Doctors, researchers and physiologists have, for many years, monitored a plurality of physiological variables such as heart rate, respiration rate and skin temperature to determine whether an individual has any effective control over the variables. These researchers have discovered that the individual does have a control over these variables and that this control is very important both to the psychological as well as the physiological well being of the individual. They have learned that when the individual is relaxed, these physiological variables are different than when the person is excited or under stress. Therefore, teaching the individual to consciously moderate these variables would allow the individual to become more relaxed. The relaxation reduces such stress-created ailments such as headaches, tension and high blood pressure.
For example, researchers have determined that the temperature of an extremity, such as a fingertip, is proportional to the rate of blood flow through the extremity. The autonomic nervous system controls the rate of blood flow to all parts of the body, including these extremities. Sympathetic stimulation reduces the blood flow to the extremities. Thus, fingertip temperature varies inversely with the activity of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Monitoring fingertip temperature and rendering it in visible or audible form reveals the state of activity of the sympathetic nervous system, as well as the related state of skeleto-muscular and smooth muscular relaxation. In simple terms, the higher the individual's temperature, the more relaxed that person is. Conversely, a low skin temperature would indicate that the person is tense and under stress.
Typically, the individual is connected via a number of electrodes to a visual monitor such as an oscilliscope which would directly indicate to the individual his or her skin temperature. If the individual exhibits a low skin temperature, the researcher or physiologist would try various techniques for endeavoring the individual to relax. If these techniques succeed, the individual's skin temperature would increase, a condition which would become visually apparent to the individual via the oscilliscope. Since the individual learns that a particular technique of relaxation is effective, presumably the individual could re-utilize this technique when it became apparent that he was under stress. While this technique has proven efficacious when the individual has been made aware that his skin temperature has indicated a degree of tenseness, this technique is shown to be inadequate under normal circumstances when the individual is not directly connected to the visual monitor, such as the oscilliscope.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved technique and device for monitoring the skin temperature of the individual without the necessity of positively connecting the individual to a visual response monitor.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring the skin temperature which is relatively unobtrusive, therefor allowing the individual to utilize the device in situations such as sales meetings or under presentations in which the individual is 1ikely to be under stress.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,575,262 issued to Leopold Greiner, Jr. is directed to a skin thermometer which includes a bulb of glass tubing wound into a spiral form connected to a standard thermometer. The tubing is placed against the skin and the temperature thereof is indicated on the thermometer. Due to its construction, this patent would have little use in the type of situation described above.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,753 issued to John E. Greenleaf and Bill A. Williams describes a thermometer holder for skin temperature measurements. However, similar to the patent to Greiner, Jr., a thermometer used in conjunction with this holder would be difficult to use in the various situations in which the present invention is contemplated.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,133 issued to John Reese describes a device which is placed around an individual's finger for displaying skin temperature changes. The device includes two or more sheets of liquid crystal thermofilm which are responsive to the skin temperature. Each sheet is responsive to different temperature ranges and therefor depending upon the color of each of the sheets, the skin temperature of the individual can be visualized. However, due to the fact that each sheet is responsive to only a range of temperatures, the exact temperature of the skin cannot be determined.
Applicant is the inventor of co-pending U.S. Application Ser. No. 245,527 filed on March 19, 1981, now abandoned relating to providing an accurate indication of an individual's skin temperature which includes a liquid crystal temperature sensing means provided on an elongated cylindrical member such as a pen or pencil. The body of the pen or pencil is metallic to create a heat sink thereby insuring that the skin temperature is accurately relayed to the temperature monitoring and indicating means. While the co-pending application does accurately measure the individual's skin temperature, this measurement has meaning only when compared to a goal temperature for the particular individual. Furthermore, an indication that the individual's temperature is either too low or too high with respect to the goal is not helpful unless the individual can then determine what must be done to diminish the difference between the individual's actual temperature and that of the individual's goal temperature.
Consequently, it is another object of the present invention to provide a device which not only indicates the actual skin temperature of an individual, but would also indicate what the individual should do to allow the individual to reach his or her goal temperature.